By Ben Waxman
Philadelphia Daily News, 7/31/07
PHILADELPHIA'S murder rate seems to be rising along with the temperature.
An explosion of crime and violence has erupted in neighborhoods across the city. It's at a crisis level and there is need for dramatic, immediate action.
So the governor or the speaker of the House needs to call a special session to focus on guns and crime. Philadelphia needs Harrisburg to pass stronger gun laws - and it needs to happen now.
The mayor, the DA and City Council seem to be powerless to stop the shooting. In their defense, they lack the ability to legislate one of the most important issues: gun control. That's why Gov. Rendell or Speaker O'Brien needs to call a special session of the legislature to deal with crime and violence. Our local elected officials cannot act, so they must.
The legislature is not due back before late September. But that's too late to consider gun control - people are dying now. Something has to be done to stop the flow of illegal guns.
The governor and the leaders of the legislature have the power to call emergency sessions at any time. The sharp rise in the number of people being killed by guns in Philadelphia, and around the state, is, in my view, an emergency that warrants such a special session.
Right now, the city is on pace to have its deadliest year in more than a decade. At the end of July, at least 241 people had been killed in the City of Brotherly Love. I've seen the maps with the red dots in the city's neighborhoods. The map looks as if it was hit by a shotgun blast. The killings are concentrated in some areas, but there is no region of Philadelphia untouched by violence.
Clearly, there is a homicide emergency on our streets.
It's true that there are a lot of factors, like poverty or education, that will need to be addressed to deal with crime in the long run. But the most immediate truth is that the easy availability of handguns on city streets contributes to people getting shot. That's a no-brainier.
Gun control is also one of the few issues that affect crime and violence that can be addressed right now. The growing number of homicides is just the sort of issue that requires an emergency legislative session.
Some in the legislature argue that this is just a Philadelphia problem. This simply isn't true. Lancaster, population 60,000, has experienced a sharp increase in murders over the last few years.
The number is in the single digits, but it's a lot for a small city. York, population 40,000, has had four people killed and 50 wounded by guns. Handgun violence is a statewide emergency - and Harrisburg has to respond.
FRANKLY, IT'S troubling that I even have to make the argument that Harrisburg should do something because it's a statewide problem.
I find it outrageous that lawmakers touting the National Rifle Association line argue that the rest of the state don't have to care about its largest city. Philadelphians, mostly young, are being shot to death at an alarming rate.
We need help. And it's time to act like we're one state.
I'm not so naïve to think that gun control will solve the problem. But reasonable limits on gun purchases, such as one gun a month, could have a serious impact on the number of illegal guns available to criminals.
Gov. Rendell has promised to take up the issue when the legislature gets back into session. That's not enough. The news gets worse with every passing weekend - and we need immediate action.
A special session of the state legislature should be called to deal with the issues of crime and violence. The victims of crime, including those too scared to leave their homes, demand that lawmakers get off their butts - and do something. *
Ben Waxman is a recent graduate of Juniata College and a frequent contributor. He can be reached at benwaxman@gmail.com.